Filing cabinet



Oct. 19, 1937.

F. A. SCHMITZ FILING CABINET Original Filed March 30, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 BY :VfVENTORI ATTORNEYS Oct. 19, 1937. sc n-z 7 2,096,689

FILING CABINET Original Filed March 30, 1935 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Emmi-MEI a INVENTOR. l

ATTORNEYS Oct, 19, 1937.

F. A. SCHMITZ 2,096,689

FILING CABINET Original Filed March 30, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEY5 Patented Oct. 19, 1937 V FILING CABINET Fred A. Schmitz, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The Globe-Wernicke Company, Norwood, Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio Original application March 30, 1935, Serial No. 13,822. Divided and this application December 13, 1935, Serial No. 54,281

3 Claims.

This invention relates to filing cabinets, desks, etc., or any structure incorporating a sliding drawer, and is particularly directed to an improved sliding support means for the drawer involving an extension slide unit or carriage.

The present application is divisional of my copending application Serial Number 13,822, filed I by me on March 30, 1935.

The average filing drawer, if of any material size, is extremely difficult to move in the event that the drawer is fully loaded. This problem becomes particularly acute if the filing cabinet is used for storing heavy documents or heavy objects such as phonograph records. As the operator attempts to withdraw the drawer there is considerable resistance to motion brought about by the weight and friction between the various movable parts as well as between the movable parts and the stationary parts. The friction becomes exceedingly greater, and the difliculty of operating the drawer increases as the drawer is pulled out. The weight of the drawer when withdrawn and the material within it are in condition of unbalance, whereby twisting and wedging occurs throughout the supporting mechanism making it extremely difiicult to move the drawer.

It is the object of the present invention to materially lessen the friction which normally tends to prevent free movement of the drawer, and to so dispose the supporting parts, such as rollers, as to cause a freer movement of the drawer regardless of' its position. The present invention has particular advantage in respect to filing drawers in which objects of great weight are stored. There is naturally some limitation on the amount of space available in which to incorporate the supporting carriage mechanism. Because of the limitation of space, it is not advantageous to increase the size of the load-bearing elements, particularly the rollers, since if large rollers are used the movement of the drawer extension carriage would be too great with respect to the drawer itself. It is the object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which fits in the normal space and is suitable for heavy loads and severe service conditions incident to the filing of heavy objects of the class described. I

Other objects and certain advantages will be more fully apparent from a description of the accompanying drawings, in which:'

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a section of a filing cabinet, showingthe drawer thereof with drawn substantially the full possible amount for the purpose of illustrating the supporting mechanism. Figure 2 is a. front view of. the drawer and cabinet, a portion of the drawer being broken away for the purpose of illustrating the carriage in a general manner.

Figure 3 is a sideelevation of the cabinet, the bottom portion thereof being broken away for the purpose of illustrating the general arrangement of the stops which control the movements of the carriage.

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 44, Fig. 2, illustrating one side of the carriage in relation to the suspension rails of the drawer and in relation to the cabinet.

Figure 5 is a sectional view takenv on line 5--5, Fig. 4.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66, Fig. 4.

Figure 7 is a. sectional View taken on line' 1+1, Fig. 4. 1

Referring to the drawings, the following construction will be found to be illustrated as one embodiment of the invention. Certain'of the interior parts of the drawer have been disclosed their inner walls againstwhich the guide channelsare fastened. The associated or contacting flanges of each pair of guide channels together form an intermediate web [4. p p

The drawer includes a pair of suspension rails l 5 consisting of angle iron pieces secured against each side thereof. These suspension rails are spaced apart and are supported within a carriage unit or extension slide [6.

V The carriage includes or is formed of channel elements ll, one at each side thereof. These channel elements faceeach' other. Each thereof is inclusive of a longitudinal depression or channel portion l8 facing outwardly with respect to the carriage structure and adapted to generally surround and clearthe web M in each case. These side rails or channels are connected by means of cross connector rails I9, whereby a rigid carriage assembly is provided. There is one of these connectors at the front ofthe carriage and one at the rear. This carriage I6 is supported between and upon the pairs of guide rails or channels I2, I 2, and the drawer ID in turn through its suspension rails I5 is supported within the carriage. The carriage includes sets of rollers and wheels hereinafter described providing a rolling engagement for the drawer in the carriage and the carriage in the cabinet.

Wheels 20, 20, are provided respectively at each lower forward end of the carriage.

provide clearance throughwhich the wheels 2| 20 protrude for rolling contact on the lower flange of the lower fixed guide channel I2. 7

Immediately above the wheels 20ar'e wheels 2|. These wheels are also mounted in the side channels of the carriage and maybe said to be disposed on the outside thereof being within the longitudinal recess portions heretofore described. These latter wheels have rolling engagement with the intermediate flanges or the web formed by the intermediate flanges of the fixed guide chanl2. The upper flanges of the carriage side channels in each case are notched out, whereby the wheels have clearance for the aforesaid engagement.

Below these wheels 22 mounted in a similar manner on the side elements of the carriage are wheels 23. These wheels 23 engage the under side of the web formed by the adjacent flanges of the fixed guide channels l2, l2. The carriage elements are cut away to permit this engage- 'ment in the same manner as in the case of the wheels 22.

Intermediate of the length of the carriage (see Figure 6) are rollers 24, 25 and 26. These rollers are loosely mounted and project'through suitable clearance openings in the lower flange. of the carriage side channels. They are maintained in position against displacement by means of pins 21, each of which is fixed ridigly'between a bracket 28 in the adjacent wall of the carriage side channel. The rollers are free to shift longitudinally a predetermined amount by virtue of the fact that the rollers have bores of considerably greater diameter than the diameter of the pins.

The roller 26 is mounted substantially at the mid-portion of the drawer extension channel or the carriage side elements.

Immediately above the roller 26 and spaced a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the suspension of the drawer are wheels 29 journalled on the side elements or channels of of the carriage. Directly above the roller 26 and wheel 29 and at each side of theoarriage, a loosely mounted roller 30 is mounted on the respective side elements of the carriage in the same manner as the roller 26. These rollers have rolling engagement on the intermediate web M of the fixed guide channels 2 of the drawer.

A wheel 3| is mounted on each side element of the carriage respectively above the rollers 30 on axles rigidly secured in the carriage side rails. The wheels 3| and rollers 30 are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the suspension rails of the drawer.

It wil be noted that the carriage, considering the lower suspension rails, is supported on the rollers 24, 25, 2B and wheel 20, and a to its upper The lower flanges of the carriage channels are notched'to drawer (see Figure 3).

suspension rails on the rollers 30 and wheels 2| when the drawer is fully closed. The rollers 24, 25 and 26 are spread out from the center of the carriage rearwardly providing well distributed rolling support for the drawer at the read end thereof where the weight is apt to be the greatest.

The supporting flanges of the suspension rails pass between the rollers 26 and the wheels 29, "and the rollers 30 and wheels 3 I.

As the drawer is partially withdrawn from the cabinet, tilting thereof is prevented by contact of the wheels 22 and 23 of the carriage against the under sides of V the upper flanges and the intermediate webs or flanges of the associated fixed guide channels Inasmuch as the rollers 24, 25, 26 and 30 carry the greater portion of a load within the drawer, these elements instead of being mounted or being constituted as outer races of the usual ball bearing assemblies are retained with-respect to axial position by the studs or pins 2'! heretofore identified. The entireload is. carried on the roller peripheries and the only frictional resistances are those resulting from contact of the rollers against the studs in the forward or rearward movement of the carriage, which resistance is proportionate to the amount of contact with the axles or studs which are made as small in diameter as possible to reduce the amount of contact.

As the drawer is partially withdrawn from the cabinet, although the wheels 20 and 2| leave the fixed guide channel tracks the entire load of the drawer is supported on these wheels and on the rollers 24, 25, 26 and 30. The wheels 29 and 3| mounted above the rollers 26 and 30 prevent tipping of the drawer on the forward wheels 20 and 2| as the drawer is withdrawn. When the drawer is partially opened, the weight being shifted beyond the line of the cabinet, the rear wheels 22 and 23 prevent canting of the carriage by virtue of their contact against the under sides of the fixed guide channel upper and intermediate webs or flanges.

As is well understood in the art, the carriage moves out at'half the speed of the drawer. To prevent complete removal of the drawer in the usual course of operation, an abutment or stop element 32 is mounted on the under side of the This element 32 is adaptedto abut the forward cross or connector rail IQ of the carriage, it being understood that this connector rail has moved forwardly to the front of the cabinet when the drawer is fully' open. The carriage in turn is limited in. its forward movement by the engagement of stops 33 thereof (see the rear of Figure 4), with stationary stops 34 fixed on the floor 35 of the cabinet.

Some types of drawers, such as those previously described for filing records and other heavy objects, are subjected to'much greater weights than the drawers ordinarily used for filing purposes. It has been quite a problem to accommodate these greater loads because of the structural and space limitations. It has been found disadvantageous to increase the size of the load-bearing elements of the usual drawer extension devices or carriages because too much space would be devoted to the drawer withdrawal mechanism if the drawers were made wider. Moreover the relative movements of the drawer extension unit or carriage with respect'to the drawer itself would be too great if the rollers were made larger in diameter. The present construction is adaptable in the space available. It has been found admirably suitable for the heavy loads and severe service conditions incident to the filing of heavy objects of the character heretofore referred to.

The drawings disclose superposed fixed guide channels or rails as a part of the cabinet structure. It will be understood that these rails could be in one piece and at the same time provide the arrangement of tracks necessary and as shown in the drawings, that is, an upper track on which the wheels 22 ride, an intermediate track on which the wheels 2| and ride, and a lower track on which the rollers 2|], 24, 25 and 26 ride.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a filing device, a cabinet, a drawer, a carriage interposed between said cabinet and drawer, said drawer resting on said carriage and said carriage resting on said cabinet, rails on the cabinet providing at each side of the cabinet, upper, lower and intermediate tracks, said carriage including side rails having longitudinal depressions clearing the intermediate tracks, said drawer having a pair of suspension rails at each side thereof, rollers interposed between said suspension rails and the intermediate and lower tracks of said cabinet at each side thereof intermediate of the length of the carriage, a plurality of said rollers being disposed between the lower suspension rails and the lower tracks of the carriage and spaced from the center of the carriage rearwardly therefrom so as to take the load at the rear of the drawer uniformly, longitudinally of the drawer, wheels rotatably mounted in the forward end of the carriage at each side thereof and riding the intermediate and lower tracks of the cabinet, the suspension rails riding the wheels for supporting the forward end of the drawer, wheels rotatably mounted in the rear of the carriage and riding the undersides of the upper and intermediate tracks of the cabinet respectively, and wheels rotatably mounted intermediate of the length of the carriage directly over certain of the first mentioned rollers and engaging the suspension rails for preventing tipping of the drawer on the forward wheels of the carriage during withdrawal of the drawer.

2. In a filing device, a cabinet, a drawer, a carriage interposed between said cabinet and drawer, said drawer resting on said carriage and said carriage resting on said cabinet, rails on the cabinet providing at each side of the cabinet. upper, lower and intermediate tracks, said carriage including side rails having longitudinal depressions clearing the intermediate tracks, said drawer having a pair of suspension rails at each the undersides of the upper and intermediate tracks of the cabinet respectively, and wheels rotatably mounted intermediate of the length of the carriage directly over certain of the first mentioned rollers and engaging the suspension rails for preventing tipping of the drawer on the forward wheels of the carriage during withdrawal of the drawer.

3. In a filling device, a cabinet, a drawer, a carriage interposed between said cabinet and drawer, said drawer resting on said carriage and said carriage resting on said cabinet, rails on the cabinet providing at each side of the cabinet, upper, lower and intermediate tracks, said carriage including side rails having longitudinal depressions clearing the intermediate tracks, said drawer having a pair of suspension rails at each side thereof, rollers interposed between said suspension rails and the intermediate and lower tracks of said cabinet at each side thereof intermediate of the length of the carriage, wheels rotatably mounted in the forward end of the carriage at each side thereof and riding the intermediate and lower tracks of the cabinet, the suspension rails riding the wheels for supporting the forward end of the drawer, wheels rotatably mounted in the rear of the carriage and riding the undersides of the upper and intermediate tracks of the cabinet respectively, and wheels rotatably mounted intermediate of the length of the carriage directly over certain of the first mentioned rollers and engaging the suspension rails for preventing tipping of the drawer on the forward wheels of the carriage during withdrawal of the drawer, means for mounting said rollers consisting in each instance of a pin secured in the carriage and of considerably less diameter than the bore of the roller which it traverses, whereby the frictional resistance to movement of the rollers is considerably reduced and the rollers at the same time maintained against displacement.

FRED A. SCHMITZ. 

